Improvement in machines for making boxes



1.w.ow\=.as. Machinafor Making Buxes.

`Patented June 22,1875.

Y W j W THE GRAPHIC COPHOTO -LITILSS &4- PARK PLACEJNJ.

-UNITEE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. BOWERS, OF SOUTH CARVER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR MAKING BOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 164,798, dated June 21)1875; application liled March 17, 1875.

" To all whom it may concern:

South Carver, in the county of Plymouth and y State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Machines for MakingBoxes 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, which forms a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to means or apparatus for making boxes, the sidesor other sectional portions of which are secured by nailing, as in thecase of wooden packing-boxes, to which the invention is moreparticularly designed to be applied, and the description havingreference to the drawing` will here more particularly be made inconnection with the production of such articles'.

The invention consists in a bench or stand with attached means forfacilitating the nailing of the sides or other sectional portions of thebox together, and in various novel constructions and combinations ofdevices, including sundry adjustable gages, stops, and clamps forplacing and holding the several sides or sections ofthe box while beingnailed, and including a tilting or swinging arrangement of box gagingand holding devices,l to facilitate the nailing of the bottom of thebox.

By this improved apparatus, packing and other boxes may be produced muchmore ex peditiously and accurately than is practicable in the ordinaryway of making them.

Figure l is a longitudinal elevation of my improved apparatus induplicatethat is, constructed for making two boxes at a time. Fig. 2 isa vertical transverse section on the line u u, looking inv direction ofthearrow c Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section on the same line u a,looking in direction of the arrow y Fig. 4, a longitudinal verticalsection, in part, on the line w w, looking in the direction of the arrowz,- Fig. 5, an end elevation;- and Fig. 6, a view showing the relativearrangement of the box being made to the gages, stops, and f clamps ofthe` apparatus. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are views in perspective of a box inthe course of its manufacture in the apparatus.

Supposing the boxes which it is required to produce are ofparallelogranlmic shape, then l the stuff of which the same are made isfirst sawed or cut up into lengths and breadths corresponding with `thesides, ends, and bottoms of the boxes, and such sides, ends, and bottomsseparately and conveniently piled, ready for use.

A is the bench or stand of the apparatus,

.iitted with two independent box gaging and holding frames orreceptacles for making two boxes at a time, inasmuch as a man and a boywill suffice to work both frames more advantageously and economicallythan they can be worked singly. Bot-h of these frames, of which theremay be any number arranged side by side at a suitable distance apart,are of similar construction, and will be more particularly described asfollows: B B are end wings, connected at their back edges by posts C (llto a base, board, or plate, D, along which either or both of said wingsmay be adjustedas, for instance, by feet 011 said posts fitting withinrecesses b in the plate D. This adjustment is to vary the distance apartof the end wings B B, to adapt the frame to make different lengths ofboxes.

Said wings B B', which occupy a parallel relation with each other,operate as guides,

gages, and clamps for the ends S S of the box as the same are slid overor on the plate D, up against shoulders or overlapping edges c c of theposts C C1, when the boxgaging frame or receptacle occupies a horizontalposition on the bench orstand A. These shoulders c c are made, the oneon or along the in` side of the post C, and the other on or along theoutside of the post Cl, relatively to the wings B B, to provide for thearrest of the ends S S of the box as the same are slid to their'places,the one on the inside of the wing C, and the other on the outside of thewing C1, but both within springs el d, attached 'to the'posts C C1, tohold the box ends S S to their places, as shown in Fig. 6. Thusconstructed, the wings B B also operate as `clampsto hold the work.`

One, B', of the wings is clear open underneat-h, as shown at o,\toprovide for the pasisage of the one end of either side S' alternately ofthe box beneathl it, and .the upper edge of 3 said wing is arranged tolie below the level of the Yupper edge ofthe box end Sas the latter isslid to its place over the one end of the plate D, on the outside of thewing B', within its spring Land up against the stop or shoulder c of thepost C1. Both posts C C1 project up above the level of the upper edge ofthe wing B', or are provided with blocks, stops, or pieces ff,adjustable up or down by any suitable means, for one edge of eitherboxside S' alternately to bear up against the adjustment of said stops,providing for different widths of boxes. Furthermore, the wings B B' andthe plate D, on the opposite side ofthe frame to which are the posts GG1, are con'- structed with sliding extension bars or pieces G2, G3, andD', to vary the length'of the wings and width of the plate, to suitdifferent depths of boxesbeing made, and the extension bar or piece G2of the win g B projects above the level of the upper edge of the wingB1, or is provided with a block, stop, or piece, f', made adjustable upor down by any suitable means, and serving to act as a guide for the oneend of either box-side S' alternately.

` When the apparatus is designed to be used for making boxes of ,onlyone size, without change at any time, then these several adjustingprovisionsmay be dispensed with 5 but as by means of such adjustmentsthe same frame or means answer for making boxes of different length,width, and depth, or of varying dimensions in either or any of thesedirections, it is preferable to construct the parts with reference tosuch changes.

. The wings B B' being set or gaged to their required distance apart,corresponding with the length ofthe boxes to be made, and the otherparts being set or adj usted to correspond with the requisite depth andwidth of said boxes, the ends S S are first introduced to their places,as hereinbefore described, and represented in Fig.4 6 of the drawing.One of the box-sides, S', is then placed over or on top of the said endsS S, and is readily or automatically adjusted to a square vand even fitwith such box ends by means of the upper ends of the post C and oppositeend piece or bar C2 of the wing B, or of the adjusting-pieces ff',acting as guides to direct it in line with the box ends; also, as stopsto arrest said boxside when fully over the upper edges of the box ends.Such box-side S'-say the side represented in Fig. 7--is then nailed downonto j the ends S S when the latter are in the posiw tion represented inFig. 6. rllhis makes half the body of the box, as represented in Fig. 8.

\ Such half box-body is then drawn out from the plate D, and frombetween the wings B B' and their springs d d, the'opening e beneath thewing B' admitting of such withdrawal. The half box-body is then reversedor -turned upside down, and the side S' thereof intro! duced over theplate D, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and the attached box ends SS inserted as before, the one between the inside of the wing B and itsspring d, and the other box end .between the outside of the wing B' andits spring d, till said box ends are arrested by the shoulders co. Theother box-side, S', is then adjusted to its place over the uncovered boxends and nailed down on the latter, the same guides or surfaces andstops serving to automatically adjust such opposite box-side as answeredfor the box-side first applied to the ends. This completes the body ofthe box, less its bottom E, as represented in Fig. 9.

The making of the box-body neither wholly within nor wholly on theoutside of the win gs B B', but within the one wing and on thc outsideof the other wing, subject to retention by the springs l d, prevents anycramping of the box or binding of it, which will be found of specialadvantage, both when entering the box-body and when withdrawing it fromthe frame in which its parts or sections are nailed together.

To put the bottom E on the box it is pro posed to suspend the plate D ofsuch box frame or receptacle by trunnions g g in bear= ings h It on theedge of the bench or stand, and after the sides and ends 0f the box havebeen nailed together, as described, to swing said box-frame, having thebox-body within it, down or over the edge of the bench, in the directionindicated by arrow in Fig. 5, and as shown for the frame at vthe righthand of Fig. 1, said frame lbeing so balancedon its trunnions as toretain its position, both when disposed horizontally and vertically. Thebox frame or receptacle having thus been turned into a verticalposition, the box-bottom E is slid to its place over the upper orexposed edges of the sides and ends, the one end of the wing B and theone longitudinal edge of the plate D adjacent thereto, or theextensionbars U2 D' of said wing and plate, serving to automaticallyguide the bottom E, and to arrest it in proper position overthe edges ofthe box sides and ends for nailing the same to said sides and ends. Thebox frame or receptacle is then turned up into horizontal positionagain, and the complete box, less its lid or top, removed, ashereinbefore described, for the removal of the half-box.

When using the box-holding frames or receptacles in duplicate, as shownin Fig. l of the drawing, a man and a boy are employed to work together,the boy placing the sections or pieces of which the boxes are composed,first by attending to the one frame and then the other, and the man oroperator reversely and simultaneously chan ging his position relativelyto the two frames to nail the sections or pieces placed by the boy orassistant. In this way, and by reason of the rapid manner in which thebox sections or pieces are adjusted into position, ready for nailing,and by the facility which is afforded for removing the boxes when made,the production of the boxes is greatly facilitated or expedited, andtheir accuracy and neatness insured..

I claimv ,f

1. The combination, in a box gaging and holding frame, of the wings BB', having springs d d, whereby they for1n both clamps manos s andguides on Vtheir outside and inside -surfaces, respectively, the openinge beneath the one Wing, the posts or stops C G1, and the shoulders orprojections c c, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination, Withthe plate or connecting-piece D, of the Wings BB', forming combined clamps and guides, made adjustable toward or. fromeach other, essentially as described.

3. The combination of the extension-bars C2 G3 with the Wings B B',substantially as specified. Y

4. The adjustable blocks, stops, or pieces f f', in combination with theposts G (l1 and frame, constructed substantially as described,

and pivoted to a fixed bench, substantially in the manner and for thepurpose herein set y forth. Y i

JOHN W. BOWERS.

Witnesses MICHAEL RYAN, BENJAMIN W. HOFFMAN.

